Sometimes I turn chocolate into cookies.
Sometimes I turn chocolate into cake.
Once I turned chocolate into sorbet.
I usually sleep with a chocolate bar on my nightstand. You probably think I’m kidding. I’m not. It’s strangely comforting.
Chocolate bread? Ok… that seems like a good call.
Chocolate for breakfast? Duh.
But my all time favorite way to work some chocolate into my system is with a simple brownie. Dense. Fudgy. Unadulterated chocolate magic.
Things aren’t that complicated today. I made brownies. Dark chocolate brownies. They were dense but moist, and just fudgy enough to make you reach for a glass of milk. They were delicious. I shared them with people. They made me more popular. I’m one of the cool kids now. It was just that easy.
Dark Chocolate Brownies
adapted from Bon Appetit, August 1999
makes 24 brownies
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan. Line the pan with foil and butter the foil. This will make brownie removal much easier.
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
Place butter and chopped chocolate in a medium sized heat proof bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water, being sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water. Stir until chocolate and butter are completely melted. Use pot holders to remove the bowl from over the boiling water. Lets mixture sit for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and espresso powder. Whisk until pale and thick. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk until completely incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and whisk to incorporate. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
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“I shared them with people. They made me more popular. I’m one of the cool kids now. It was just that easy.”
Heeheehee, I am SO with you on this one! I make treats and share them with my niece and her teenage friends (mostly because otherwise, I would eat them all myself, and then I would be enormous!)… and those kids LOVE me. I am officially everyone’s favorite “Auntie”, and I’m told they miss me when I’m not around on a regular basis :D
Treats are the best “like me” bribe ever ;)
oh boy!! That looks like a good brownie recipe. My kids are chocoholics. And I think I have all the ingredients to start baking it…NOW:)
These look so good.
They look awesome, go dark chocolate!!
Chocolate and I have been lovers for a while. ;p These look so good!
Brownies are also my favorite way to eat chocolate! Are these a sweet brownie?
These brownies look amazingly sinful. And that photo of the swirling wet mixture! I love it. Super pretty.
Great brownies!! Dark chocolate is my favourite :)
Looks like a great start to Birthday Week!
Happy Birthday!!
Joy,
I just got home from my first day as a pastry intern (and yes, I’m in loveeee) and I turn on my comp and see this lovely chocolaty bit of heaven you’ve concocted and even though I have been up to my elbows in pastry all day, I have to now put the apron back on and make this because these brownies look like they could cure the world’s worries. Mmm Mmm Dark Chocolate… life is now complete.
Thanks!
These are amazing! I subbed some cocoa powder for 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate and threw on some chocolate chips before baking.
Mmmmm…..MMMMmmmmm… Chocolate heaven. It’s a good place to be.
Did someone say chocolate brownies? Yummmmmmmmm! There is nothing wrong with chocolate being close to your bedside.
Beautiful photos Joy.
I’ve tried lots of homemade brownie recipes, but most of them have called for cocoa powder, not melted, unsweetened chocolate. I think that’s the key ingredient switch that would transform crappy homemade brownies into a delight. {Can’t wait to try this recipe, printing it out Pronto.}
Oooh, these look amazing! I never seem to have cocoa powder on hand but I always ALWAYS have bricks of chocolate (strange? maybe), aka, perfect brownie recipe for my life.
You have the most amazing timing! I really needed brownies today…mine are in the oven at this very moment. :)
holy moly – 2 cups of sugar! i felt a little ill just reading the recipe, but heck yeah i’m making them anyway!
so this is a dark chocolate brownie but the recipe calls for unsweetened chocolate, not dark chocolate? is it the espresso powder? hmm.. i’m ready to eat yours..
In my book chocolate = instant popularity. Enough said. :)
What’s your secret for getting the brownie moist and fudgy? Mine always come out dry :(
are you over-baking your brownies? take them out a few minutes before you think you should.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh wow! I’m drooling! These sound (and look) fab!
xxMK
Delightful Bitefuls
Holy crap, so good. This might be the holy grail of brownies. I may have had one for breakfast… and a snack…and dessert. So worth it :)
I think I’ve looked at this recipe longingly a billion times since you posted it. One of these days I’ll make it. I even went to the store yesterday and stocked up on baking chocolate!
My mom made me one of the cool kids with her rice krispy treats so I know the feeling. :)
This recipe is very similar to my grandmother’s recipe. I look forward to trying it and seeing how close it is in taste.
My search for a better than the box kind of brownies has ended (after many lame attempts!) Made them last night and might have had them for breakfast. If you ever bump into my little sister, Jennie, in LA, would you make her some of these?! Wish I could make them for her myself!
I find as a man that cooking and ESPECIALLY baking puts me WAY at the top of the ladies’ list. This recipe should catapult me to the top in no time! Thanks for posting it.
I made these today and they are wonderful. These brownies are the chocolatiest (is that a word) one I have ever had! Thank you so much for sharing!
Oh my goodness! I tried your recipe, but I took out 2 oz of the unsweetened chocolate and used 2 oz of dark chocolate instead, and it was tremendous!! They tasted the best refrigerated or as i like everything -frozen! Thanks for the inspiration!!!
yum! i am so wanting to make these right now because i always cook and bake when i am nervous, but unfortunately i have no willpower when brownies are in the house. i am going for surgery tomorrow, so these will need to wait patiently until i can partake in this gooey goodness. thanks for the recipe!
I made these over the weekend and while the flavor was ridiculously good, the texture was weird. Very dry and sandy. Did I not beat the eggs and sugar mixture long enough? Seems like I did something very wrong, beyond overbaking, because they had no ressemblance to the gooey fudginess I was expecting! Help!
These look so delicious. I have a recipe similar to these, but it doesn’t use dark chocolate.
I made these and they were loved by all! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
I made these today and I think for myself I would reduce the amount of cacao or go for semisweet, they were a bit too deep for me, I wanted a bit more sweet. Thanks for the recipe.
Looks delicious. I will survive the entire day by only eating this.
Joy, I accidentally bought bittersweet chocolate instead of unsweetened chocolate to make these. Any idea how much sugar I should leave out? THANKS and love your blog!
Ag! I don’t know without baking them myself. The sugar also helps to add moisture to the batter so… I’m really not sure how to adjust the recipe. Sorry!
Okay. I am making these brownies from now on. Best recipe I’ve ever done. No more cocoa for us! (I put in a whole tablespoon of espresso powder in order to make them decidedly mocha. Delicious.)
hey we are doing this for a computer project to make baked goods, and sell them to see what our profit is. anyways i convinced my group to make this recipe. Thanks so much!!!!!
I love this recipe :) I bookmarked it and have made it twice. A rich chocolatey brownie that was very easy to make without hard-to-find ingredients. I added Ghiradelli’s semisweet choco chips. The 2nd time I made them, I used an easy choco frosting on one pan. On the other pan, I added some pecans and a crumb topping.
Here is the frosting recipe I used: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Brownie-Frosting/Detail.aspx
These are so good. I bought unsweetened chocolate by mistake a while back and these were the perfect thing to use it on. Very dense, really good crust on the top, but super fudgey inside. I had to back for 40 min and add about 1/4 c mo flour for high altitude. Super good. SUPER. Would be really good with a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
Hey girl! I just wanted to let you know that I made these and LOVED them. Best brownies ever. Oh and I stuffed them full of wasabi and crystallized ginger. It just seemed like a good thing to do. If you want to check them out… the link is: http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2011/02/wasabi-and-crystallized-ginger-dark.html
Thanks for always posting such amazing recipes! you inspire me!
Dear Joy,
How would these brownies do being sent in a care package? How long do they stay fresh and moist?
i suppose it just depends on how long they have to be in the mail… but i think that if they were well packed, they’d work in a care package. the s’mores brownies might also be great.
I just gave these a go, and they’re easily the best brownies I’ve ever made. I’m gonna go show them off to my German friends now.
hi again^^ This is my easy go-to brownie recipe but would there be a way to use browned butter for this? I don’t have experience using browned butter in recipes but the good comments on it bringing in a caramel-y flavor intrigues me. Should I stick to the same 1.5 sticks of butter and brown them or would I need to increase it to 2 sticks?
Thank you Joy! These are AMAZING!!! I made them yesterday for fathers day dessert, served with cream and strawberries….yum yum yum!
Made these today with the kids I watch. They loved them. Had a ton left over and took them to the coffee shop I go to all the time. They loved them so much, I got free drinks. I guess I’m a cool kid now?
By far the BEST brownie recipe I have tried! I am the messiest cook in the world, but somehow I manage to cook these with minimal mess and washing up! And they are mighty delicious :P
These brownies were a sure hit at church a few weeks ago :) ah-mazing
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